Clothespin



R. A. HARRS March M, N@

CLOTHESPIN Filed July 2, 1948 INVEINTOR. /Q/f/A/?D 14. #AR/?IS Patented Mar. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE CLOTHESPIN Richard A. Harris, High Point, N. C., assignor of thirty per cent to E. W. Harris, Sophia, and twenty per cent to Roy E. Carr, High Point,

Application July 2, 1948, Serial No. 36,777

4 Claims. (CI. 24-137) The present invention relates to clothespins designed primarily for suspending clothes from a clothes line, but it is understood that a suspension device in accordance with this invention is for use in any connection for which it may be found applicable.

Many forms of such structures have been contemplated in service, these usually including a pair of jaws carried by a handle zone with the jaws arranged to provide a grippin-g action upon the work. In clothespin service, the work is provided by a clothes line on which the garment article is mounted, the pin being designed to retain the garment in its position on the line. such use requires that the jaws be capable of yield outwardly to permit positioning and removal of the pin, and yet be capable of gripping the work when the pin is in service position. Some, as with the ordinary clothespin, 'are ormed of Wood having one end bifurcated to produce the jaws, the natural resilience of the wood being relied upon the produce the yield; others have the jaw members as individual elements connected 'together at an intermediate point by a spring construction, the latter generally including a coil zone, the coil serving to hold the jaws in their closed position and serve as a pseudo pivot to permit the jaws to yield. Various eleborations of these general -characteristics have been developed to meet particular conditions, but inasmuch as they fundamentally embrace the above characteristics, the latter may be considered as a standard for the type. i I

'I'he present invention is designed to produce a structure of this type which is simple in-`-formation, capable of ready assembling, the'invention being primarily developed to permit assembly by' blind persons, comparatively compact structur ally but exceedingly efficient in operation, of' low cost of manufacture, and capable of production with jaws of different forms and materials.

The invention is formed. generally of a pair of formed jaws anchored to the end zones of a springthe intermediate portion of which presents a coil, preferably of a' pair of turns in side-byside relation. The coil is of considerable diame-` ter to thereby permit it to serve' as a handle for positioning and removing the pin relative to the work, for providing an exceedingly efficient power source for producing the grippin'g action on the work when the pin is in service, and to permit a number of the clothespins to be retained on the fingers of each hand on the order of rings.

To these and other ends, therefore, the nature of which will be better understood as the invention is hereinafter disclosed, said invention consists in the improved constructions and-combinations of parts as hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, 'and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying dra-wings, in which similar reference characters indicates similar parts in each of the views:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of the assembly.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional View taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. l.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

v Fig. 7 is a front elevation of a modified form of the assembly.

.Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken on line 8-8 of Eig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional View taken on line 9--9 of Fig. 7.'

The assembly of the present invention is formed of a pair of jaw members ID and` the coil handle member II. p

The jaw members o are substantially duplicates, being formed of suitable material, preferably of the plastic type," but may be made of other materials, such as Wood, metal, glass, rubber, etc. The contour conguration of each jaw member may be of any preferred type, but preferably, as shown in Figs. l, 2 and 7, which disclose (Fig. 2) that opposite sides are substantially planar withirounded corners at top and bottom, while the outer and inner faces are of curved Outline, the two faces differing in curvature. For instance, the inner face, which cooperates in producing the gripping face', is formed with a concaved zone l2 in its upper'zone, the lower zone being flared outwardly as' at !3. The outer face is shownas of compound curvature, but this is simply illustrative, since this face may be of any preferred form as long as it provides a substantial body formation carrying the configuration of the inner face referred to, with the lower zone efiective to produce the lower lip zone shown. In the assembly, the inner faces of the pair of members oppose each other, so that the faces !2 combinedly produce an opening Iza, while the faces !3 produce a mouth, the walls of which flare outwardly. The mouth permits of readily positioning the assembly on the laden clothes line, the opening receiving the laden line with the concave faces partially encircling the line to retain the assemblv in osition The coil handle member ll is formed of resilient metal, such as wire, to illustrate the type, of a length sufiicient to produce the structure being described. 'The intermediate zone :of the wire length is coiled into a circular loop formation Ila, preferably of circular contour and formed of a pair of turns, these being arranged side by side, the end zones of the wire projecting from the same side of the contour. Each end. zone is bent into: a U-shape formation llb .with

the leg which carries the free end of the end zone preferably of shorter length. The spacing of the two legs in the direction of 'the 'loop axis is approximately equal to the axial length of the turns of the loop, so that the plane of the end zone extends in the same direction as the axis of the coil loop. The shorter leg may be provided with a succession of bar-bs llc, as in Fig. '2, or may have-the free end bent`-laterally,

as at lid in Fig. 8. Asis-apparent, the opposite endzones of the coil member all have the U- shaped formations in reversed relation, while each formation has its opposite legs positionedona commonplane, thetwo formations present the longer leg of one formation as ona commonplane with the shorter legof the other formation, but with such latter plane extending in a direction at right angles to the plane of the two legs of the formation itself. Hence, the longer leg positions substantially correspond to the-axial dimensions of the coil loop, being continuations of the loop,

while the shorter leg of one formation is alined' with the longer leg of'the other formation.

As will be understood, this arrangement of the U-*shape contour places the two legs of the contour as extending in a plane parallel with a vertical plane through the coil axis and thus parallel to the mouth face of the jaw member, with the longer leg' of'the contour opposite the shorter leg of the U-shape contour of the other jaw member. While this positions the longer legs of the two contours out of direct opposition, and similarly with the shorter legs, such arrangement does not tend to set up unequalpressure conditions such as to tend to disturb the proper operation of the assemblage. This can be understood from the fact that .the wire is of heavy gauge, and the common planeof the twolegs of a contour extending parallel to the face of the e mouth' of the jaw member causes the width of such face together with the line to which the assemblage is applied to cooperateto prevent any such turning movement. The advantage of such arrangement comes from the fact that the legs (although spaced) :and the connection thereextensive` area of the jawmember recess, and

since the spring pressure is being applied` in such `60 between provide .a contour whichincludes an e 4 being applied uniformly regardless of any leg yield which might be produced.

To permit assembly of the jaw members n with the coil loop member ll, each jaw member ID is provided with an opening lila leading inward from the upper end of the member to a depth slightly lessthanthe length of the longer leg of the U-shape formation Hb including the curved zone which connects the pair of legs of the formation. The opening has a width equalling the thickness of the wire and a breadth equal to the overall dimensions of the two legs of a formation. In other words, the opening m will receive a formation and bring the upper end of the jaw member 'into proximity to the periphery of the coil by pushing the formation into the opening. The openings are similar in both jaw members so that when in position, the jaw members will 'have their side faces alined, with the opposing inner faces in contact, indicated, for instance,` in Figs, 1 and 7.

Since the, coil member -is of resilient wire form, the short leg can spring inward to permit the barbs !Ic or the bent end Ild to pass` over the adjacent ;wall of. the openin *during insertion of the formation. When the formation is seated, the'resilience of the short leg will cause the holding featuresthe barbs I lcor the lateral end lid, to' engage in such wall, the latter having a depression He to. receivethe end lld when the arrangement of Fig. 7 is beingemployed. Each jawzmember thus becomes anchored to an end Zonexformation llb.

The coilisso formedthat-when the members U have been anchored, the inner faces of the members will be in contact with the jaws under at :leasta-slight tension, thus -assuring the jaws will remainclosed when the assembly is not in use. 'The amount `of such normal tension is read ilycontrolled bythe positions of the longer legs relative to; the'turns ;of the loop, the positions being ,.-such, normally, that the two formations must' be; sprunggapart' to .permit entranc into the-,openings of the-.pair of jaws into which the formations'areto bejreceived whenthe opposing inner faces, of the jawsarein contact; the greater the amount :oftension:-.at suchtime, the Stifler becomes the .assemblv ..In practice, after the garment has been placed on the::1inethe assembl-ynis simply applied by placing the ;fiared mouth zone of the jaws on the laden :lineand ;applying downward pressure on the loop ll. This movement of;the-assemb1y causesthesjaws ,to spread in opposition to the spring tension, ;the movement. continuing until the laden line entersthe opening Iza, whereupon the spring tension causes the. jaws to close upon the-laden line. Toremove the assembly, it is necessaryonlyto draw-upon the loop H, the concave faces 12 causing the `jaws to spread sufficienttopermit the laden line to escape.

The jaw members, are, substantial duplicates andcan be formedrof any suitablematerial, preferably plastic. Their form SJsuCh asto permit of ready production. The third member of the assembly, the 'handle coil loop, is `prefe rably forme'd` of a. suitable resilient wire; the general shape, with either form,ibeing such. as to permit ready' formation, ,including the formation of the barbs Ilc and thebentfreerendlld. The assemblyof'the elements ::is-easi1y provided, as above .pointed out,` the invention was developed in such form'.*asto;permit assembly by a blind person, opening .up an additional 'field i of activity 'for :those-thus aaffiicted.

asomevv I As is appa'rent from the drawings, the assembly, presents a structure which is not only highly efficient under actual service conditions, but presents such structure in a very compact form, thus mak-` ing it suitable with lines of considerable variation in cross-sectional dimensions, thus being serviceable not only forthe usual clothes lineservice, but providing for efcient service within the home where small articles'are hung up to dryfi' The jawmembers have a length sufiicient to meet normal service conditions, and .the large coil loop provides powerfor producing the desired tensions, and, in addition, provides an efcient handle for manipulating the structure, since, if circumstances require, the withdrawal action can be provided by inserting a finger within the loop,

the latter having' dimensions permitting free entrance of the finger. The large coil loop, also serves an additional purpose. hanging clothes, the clothe'spins are contained in a separate receptacle and the user is obliged to reach into such receptacle, extract a pin and As a rule, when' then apply it over the clothes and line. To avoid I this continued' stooping and arm fatigue, it is now customary in some instances for the user to position or carry several pins in the mouth. The present invention, by providing the large coil loop, eliminates both of the above tiresome and unsanitary practices. This is possible by assembling a number of the pins on the fingers of each hand similar to finger rings. Thus, a supply of the pins is always available at the point of use and both hands are free to carry on the clothes hanging fastening procedure. r I

The assembly elements are of such forms as 'to permit their production under quantity production methods, while the assembly is such as to permit rapid development even under the hand Operations contemplated, hence, the cost of production is comparatively low. One important advantage is the fact that inasmuch as the jaw members are individual, they can be produced from a variety of materials, thus making possible the production of assemblies of this type within various price ranges ranging from the cheaper Wood structures to any expensive elaborate formations desired.

In addition to the above mentioned advantages, the assembled structure presents the coil H as having a diameter length approaching the length of the jaw members, in addition to which the coil is formed with at least one complete convolution so that the opposite end zones are spaced apart a distance at least equal to the cross-sectional diameter of the lower zone of such convolution which lies between such end zones; and since the end zones leading to the juncture with the legs extend across a vertical plane extending through the axis of the coil, they also extend across the line which divides the jaw members and which extends in such plane. As a result, the coil has its lower zone adjacent to and in proximity to the inner ends of the jaw members where such spaced end zones of the coil form spaced barriers at such inner end of the jaw members With the sp'acing placing the two barriers as spaced in the direction of length of the line; hence, the assembly can be quickly placed over the line and pressed home with assurance that it will be properly positioned, the spaced barriers causing the jaw members to extend directly downward due to the contact of the pair of barriers at spaced points with the line or the articles carried thereby.

And in this positioning the fact that the U- shaped contour of the legs of the coil 'extends from such end zones of the coil presents a definite advantage, due to the condition that the longer sideof the leg from one end zone is located at one end o f-i ts receiving recess while the similar side of the other end zone is-located at the opposite end of its receiving recess; since the receiving recesses are in difierent jaw members, and the recesses extend parallel with such plane, the shorter side of the U-shape contour of one jaw member is located directly opposite the longer side-of .the contour of the other jaw member; hence, the two sides of the contour as well as the bridging portion between them extend in a plane. substantially parallel with the' axis plane referred to when the'jaw members are inactive, with the result that the U-shaped contour "is active as a pressure-applying means for the jaw member to which it is secured throughout the complete length of the U-shape formation, thus applying pressure over an area of considerable width, thustending to prevent jaw member movements such as would apply non-uniform pressure within the width of the opposing faces of the members; v

In other words, the structure provides a highly efiicient article for its particular service, with the article of' compact form, but so arranged as to maintain serviceability and enable rapid application to service 'position with assurance of a proper` positioning of the assembly. r

Another advantage lies in the fact that should the jaw members *become unfit for use, they may be readily replaced and thus only a portion of the total cost of the pin is wasted. It is proposed to sell jaw members alone in addition to the assembled pin so that a purchaser may always have replaceable jaws on hand. i

While I have herein disclosed several forms in which the invention-may be developed for efcient service, it will be understood that changes and/or modifications may be found desirable or essential in meeting the exigencies of a particular service or the individual desires of a user, and I therefore reserve the right to make any and all such changes and/or modifications so deemed essential or desirable, insofar as the same may come within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims, when broadly construed.

I claim:

1. In suspension devices, wherein a pair of jaws are supported to provide a gripping action on the work for service with the jaws yieldable relative to each other to permit service positioning and removal of the device relative to the work, and assemblage of such type comprising a pair of jaw members, and a spring iormation having its opposite end zones in the form of legs and an intermediate zone of coil characteristic, the coil presenting a plurality of convolutions with the point of juncture of a coil end zone and leg located beyond a vertical plane extending through the axis of the coil to thereby extend the coil end zone across such plane and across the dividing line between the opposing jaw members adja cent to and in proximity with the inner ends of such jaw members to thereby locate the coil end zones and leg continuations as in spaced apart relation by the thickness of at least one convolution with the leg entrance into the respective jaw members located on spaced apart parallel planes intersecting the vertical plane of the coil axis, the legs of the spring formation being located and applied within recesses of the jaw members With a-jaw member and leg presentingone side i of the gripping threat,` the housed* leg portions being'of open loop' characteristc with each' loop extending in `ar 'plane para`llel to "the vertical plane ofthe cil axisand being forcibly engaged with walls ofthe recesses, `the'coil zone diameter having a; length approaching the :length of a' jaw mem-berand being operative'to provide the gripping `=power of r the jaw: members i during service and to function as'the. assemblage handle inthe positioning and removal of theassemblage relativeto the sawork; said jaw members "having configurations such' as to 'combinedly producea flared mouth and throat'at the entranceto the; gripping zone and a; work-receiving topening within the throatand in spaced relation to thesflared mouth. i

2. An assemblage 'as in claim 1` characterized in'thatthe recessof each jaw member-formed rectangular 'in cross-section' with 'the greater length of the recess cross-sectional contour extending parallel to such Vertical: plane of "the coil axis, and further characterized in :that :the open loop formations of the leg zones of 'the spring formation areeach formed as of nU -shaped `contour adapted to be bodily received in the respectiverecessesand anchored to a wall thereof ,to thereby present the housed portion of a' leg as having the legs of the U-shape contour extending ina common plane parallel to the vertical plane throughthe coil axis to thereby apply the pressure of the spring `to' a jaw member over anaex tensive `area t and throughout the length :of such contour-with the pressure eXer-ted' in `a direction normal to such vertical plane-through the coil axis.

3. 'An assemblageas -'n claim-l characterized in that the legs of' the spring* formationare -each formed as of U-shape contouradapted 'tobereceived in a jaw'member *recess and anchored'to a-wall thereof, the length of'the end zoneofa the legwhich forms oner'of the-2sidescof"the .,U shape contour; being less than'that of the 'other sideof the .contour with theside .of 'less. length carrying` anchoring .means forsecuring the tu -shape' contour withinthe'recess. l

:4. An assemblagesas in'claimfz characterized in. that the sides .v of;` the U -sha-ped contour :structure of the respective zones present theleg formed from thelterminal portion of' the endwzone as of less lengththan that ofzthe. othenleg'and with the leg of lesserlength :carrying anchoring means for securing' the U shapel` contour- .within the recess,. and further: characterized in thata the legn positions withintthe. respective' recesses. present the legs in reversed relationship totherebycause the' positioned U^-shaped contourstructures of `the assemblecl jaw members to\ present .a long anda. short" sidemember on the .same plane, with the latter extending normalrto the plane ofian individual: U -shaped structure, andwith-such sides carriecl by difi'erent :end zones;

'RICHARD A.JHARRIS-.

REFERENCES CITED.

'The followingreferences"are of record 'in the file of' this patent: i

UNITED; -STATES :PATENTS Switzerland `Dec.'1, 1925 

